Walter de Huntercombe, 1st Baron Huntercombe (1247–1313) was an English military commander during the

Wars of Scottish Independence The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and 14th centuries. The First War (1296–1328) began with the English invasion of Scotla ...

and a Governor of Edinburgh Castle. Around 1283, Huntercombe took part in a military expedition into Wales which was part of the wider

Conquest of Wales by Edward I The conquest of Wales by Edward I took place between 1277 and 1283. It is sometimes referred to as the Edwardian conquest of Wales,Examples of historians using the term include Professor J. E. Lloyd, regarded as the founder of the modern academ ...

. He was appointed constable at the newly taken

Castell y Bere Castell y Bere is a Wales, Welsh castle near Llanfihangel-y-pennant, Abergynolwyn, Llanfihangel-y-pennant in Gwynedd, Wales. Constructed by Llywelyn the Great in the 1220s, the stone castle was intended to maintain his authority over the local ...

, building a new chamber at the castle during his residence. On 4 June 1290, Huntercombe took possession of the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

for

King Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...

; the island had previously been under the control of the Scots. In early 1293 Edward I ordered Huntercombe to relinquish the island to

John Balliol John Balliol or John de Balliol ( – late 1314), known derisively as Toom Tabard (meaning 'empty coat'), was King of Scots from 1292 to 1296. Little is known of his early life. After the death of Margaret, Maid of Norway, Scotland entered an ...

, the

King of Scots The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers regulated by the British cons ...

. and Edward's vassal. In 1294, Edward summoned Huntercombe to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

because of the French occupation of the

Duchy of Gascony The Duchy of Gascony or Duchy of Vasconia was a duchy located in present-day southwestern France and northeastern Spain, an area encompassing the modern region of Gascony. The Duchy of Gascony, then known as ''Wasconia'', was originally a Franki ...

. In June 1295, he was rewarded for his service by being created Baron Huntercombe. His arms were ermine, two bars gemells

gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). Gules is portrayed in heraldic hatch ...

The Wars of Scottish Independence

In 1296 and 1297 Huntercombe took part in the

. By his own testimony, he was at the Capture of Berwick with 20 mailed horses, and at the Battle of Stirling Bridge with 32 horses. In 1298 he was appointed Governor of Edinburgh Castle. Huntercombe was also appointed Sheriff of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Linlithgow Linlithgow ( ; ; ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a historic route between Edi ...

and Haddington. He was a signatory of the Baron's Letter to

Pope Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII (; born Benedetto Caetani; – 11 October 1303) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 until his death in 1303. The Caetani, Caetani family was of baronial origin with connections t ...

in 1301. In 1307 he successfully petitioned the King to be released from the duty to pay

scutage Scutage was a medieval English tax levied on holders of a knight's fee under the feudal land tenure of knight-service. Under feudalism the king, through his vassals, provided land to knights for their support. The knights owed the king militar ...

for the two Scottish wars, in addition to being granted permission to levy scutage from his tenants. Huntercombe argued for these privileges on the basis that he had served in both wars. Huntercombe died in 1313 without issue, and his barony became extinct.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Huntercombe, Walter de Huntercombe, 1st Baron English people of the Wars of Scottish Independence Barons in the Peerage of England 1247 births 1313 deaths 13th-century English nobility 14th-century English nobility